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POLITICO 44

The Obama administration’s release of long-awaited standards for digitizing medical records finally gave the green light to information technology companies that have been waiting to cash in on billions in stimulus dollars.

Between the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and health care reform legislation, about $27 billion has been set aside to help doctors and hospitals convert patient medical records to digital files. Big tech companies started beefing up their own health software businesses to take advantage of the opportunity.

But most health care providers waited to buy the expensive equipment while the administration finalized rules on reimbursements for costs related to implementing the systems. The Department of Health and Human Services released 864 pages of regulations Tuesday.

Computerizing medical records, in theory, will cut costs and reduce errors. For companies with large health care divisions, such as McKesson, Cerner, Microsoft, Google, Siemens and General Electric, the regulations mean billions of dollars in potential revenue.

“There’s been a lot of uncertainty in the provider community about what kind of equipment they should be purchasing, so they’ve been holding back from buying anything,” said David Main, chairman of the health care regulatory practice at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. “Now they can make plans to buy.”

But that doesn’t mean all hospitals and doctors will jump on the digital record bandwagon right away. Physicians complain the software programs are too complex and take too much time to fill out, especially in fast-paced environments like emergency rooms.

And all the software products have to go through a certification process, and it’s not yet clear how companies can dispute failing grades. Regardless of the kinks, providers will face penalties if they don’t adopt the new technology by 2015, a timeline some say will cause gridlock.

Don May, the American Hospital Association’s vice president for policy, says the pressing timeline could impose a burden on infrastructure.

“Everyone is going to vendors at the same time,” he said. “Even if [the hospital] is ready today, they may have to wait 18 months before the vendor goes out to implement it. “What we’ve created is this market that’s going to be like 495 at rush hour,” he says, referring to the Capital Beltway.

Ammmmmm EXCUSE ME. You can make all of the standards you want. Companies can spend as much as they want to develop the software but you see there is just one problem.'

YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO PUT MY MEDICAL RECORDS ONLINE!!!!!! THEY ARE MINE!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE NOT YOURS!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE PRIVATE, AND I DO NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO USE THEM!!!!!!!!!!

No health care records, no digital records, no records to the IRS, NOTHING!!!!!!!!

Explain to me like I was a lib. Just how is the right to an abortion a woman's right to privacy, and her right to choose not going to be the golden egg that farts all over Obummers plans to bring socialist health care to America?

Explain to me how the supreme court let's that pass when the case gets to them.